During a town board meeting last year, residents in the town of Erin suggested holding an advisory referendum to gauge whether the community supported allowing all-terrain and utility vehicles on town roads. They learned such a plebiscite is no longer possible.
Although Wisconsin residents can’t bypass the Legislature via a petition to enact — or reject — a new state law or amend the constitution, the situation varies at the municipal level.
For instance, residents of Wisconsin cities and villages can, with some restrictions, establish or amend local ordinances by petition and popular vote.
Previously, local governments could present advisory referendums to the electorate to gauge public opinion on nearly anything. Questions have addressed topics ranging from marijuana legalization to gerrymandering.
But following a change to state law in June 2023, local county and municipal governments are now limited in the types of advisory questions they can ask voters. Subjects concerning proposed expenditures funded with property tax revenue, shared revenue, boundary changes, telecommunication and municipal cable service are OK. Everything else is off limits.
The loss of local authority resulted from a provision tucked into a contentious omnibus bill introduced during the 2023-24 legislative session by Rep. Tony Kurtz, R-Wonewoc, and Sen. Mary Felzkowski, R-Tomahawk. The legislation overhauled shared revenue, repealed a property tax on business inventory and set conditions for a Milwaukee sales tax. It passed with bipartisan support, and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed it into law.
Rep. Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, introduced an amendment that removed the measure from the bill, but lawmakers voted it down along party lines.
Critics of local advisory referendums, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said local measures inappropriately targeted policy matters, such as abortion, that are decided by the state.
“It makes no sense to use the ballot as a way to try to achieve some interest group’s political goal,” Vos said at a Milwaukee Press Club event. “We should have had advisory referenda only for things that are directly related to what is being done in that municipality.”
Matt Rothschild, then-executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, decried the measure as unconstitutional in written testimony submitted during a public hearing.
“You are telling all of us that you don’t even want to hear from us and that we can’t even express ourselves in advisory referendums on public issues through our local governments,” he said.
The power to present non-binding ballot questions to the electorate is still granted to the Wisconsin Legislature. During the 2023 spring election, ballots contained an advisory question concerning welfare benefit work requirements, which voters overwhelmingly supported.
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